Copper
by coppernite
Summary: When a mutant is helped by the Xmen, one barely remembers her while another doesn't trust her. NOTE: This takes place before Apocalypse, Wolverine hasn't lost his Adamantium, and is based mainly on events/story styles from the 90's.
1. Status

**Disclaimer:** Let's just get this out of the way in one foul swoop here, by letting me state: I do not own any part of the Marvel franchise in any way, shape, or form. I DO however, own the rights to the original character created by myself. And while this original character and my pen name are the same, the character is not meant to be a representation of myself in the Marvel Universe, I simply wrote a few fics [fewer which have actually been posted] and chose a name from one of them.

**Also:** This story was originally posted in 2005, I am currently going back through the files and editing them to create a more accurate and cohesive representation of the story I envisioned [but lacked the skill to write]. I also swapped a character in the beginning, but hope it'll make the story a little less cheesy. Therefore I will be taking down the original fic chapter-by-chapter, and will be reposting the chapters as they are updated. [I also decided to do-away with the first chapter and start it with the second since it wasn't a necessary component]

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**Chapter One:** Status

Her newest patient lay there not yet moving but rather resting; and would've found, however, that even if she did try to move, she couldn't. Moira heard Scott approach behind her but continued to work. Preparing a vial to draw blood, she then inserted the needle, but aside from a slight shudder and a soft groan, nothing happened.

"Her red blood cell count has increased some, though it should nae rise this quickly unless..." she trailed of in thought. It was common for Dr. MacTaggart to do that when she was in deep thought, but it still annoyed Scott. He had a lot to think about now, including who this new person was, why the Brotherhood had targeted her, and whether or not she was a threat.

"Have her vitals stabilized yet?" Scott asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Her vitals have improved greatly, but she is still too weak tae be tested much further than the initial scans and blood sample about tae be tested." She replied, glancing up momentarily from her scanner.

"Hmm," He thought aloud, "what is she?"

"If yuir wondering if she's a mutant or nae, she is." Her concentration now broken from the girl, she directed it towards him.

"Yeah" he said, looking down at the bed.

She sighed inwardly at the thought of how she was going to have to tell him that she knew next to nothing about this stranger they just brought into their home. 'At least' she thought, 'I can tell him some of the basic things we know about her'. Taking a moment to put some equipment away, she turned back to face the man known as Cyclops. "From what Dr. McCoy and myself have been able tae determine from some preliminary observations, she possess a healing factor of an unknown degree, as well as a metallic skeletal structure. Both of which resemble what we've seen in Logan as well as some other individuals, thus suggesting a similarity and possibly even a connection."

"Well that would explain why she's been able to stabilize as quickly as she did, or even how she survived in the first place." He said with an apprehensive tone as he began to voice his thoughts. "And if she's as similar to Logan as you say, then doesn't—"

"—does it mean she was a part of the Weapon X program as well?" Professor Charles Xavier finished for him. He had come down to the medi-lab to check on the Drs.' Progress.

"Yes Professor, was she?" Scott asked tentively.

"It is unknown for sure but may be assumed at the moment, we will have to wait until she awakens to be certain. So far her mind is too weak for me to read properly, combined with certain mental barriers that suggest training and experience with telepaths, or I fear may indicate experimentation with the mind". Turning his attention to Dr. MacTaggart he asked, "How has she been?"

"Well as of now; her cardiovascular system seems tae be almost fully healed, and her respiratory system seems tae be managing, but her nervous system has me a wee bit concerned." Dr. MacTaggart answered frowning slightly.

"How's is she doing so far?" Ororo Munroe asked as she entered the room. She had been among the group sent to check on irregular electrical disturbances near The Brotherhood's latest known activity. When they'd seen their latest guest engaged in a losing battle, they stepped in. Her eyes grew clouded with concern when she saw Dr. MacTaggart run a hand through her hair in frustration at the interruptions.

"At the moment its hard tae say fur certain, but she seems tae be on the mend. In fact we can probably expect tae see her awake within the next few hours if nothing changes, but there are still a few things that need tae be checked out further." The younger pair left the medi-lab to let the Professor and Drs. resume their work. Dr. MacTaggart turned back to the monitor and examined the readings as she continued to talk to the Professor over her shoulder. "The x-rays taken earlier show her skeleton to be laced with some form of metal. Combine that with yuir observation of her mind blocking, Charles, and we may nae like what we see when she wakes".

"Hey Charles?" As she called his name he started to wheel over to the consol, stopping once he was next to her, looking at the monitor. "What do ye reckon happened tae her?" But before he was able to answer her, Dr. Hank McCoy appeared in the doorway.

"The results from the blood sample Dr. MacTaggart, and I think you may be interested to know that our friend here shares numerous molecular similarities to the samples we have on record of both Wolverine and Sabretooth." He announced as he walked into the room, his brilliant blue fur and white lab coat contrasting spectacularly. Dr. MacTaggart turned to face him, and nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"So now the question is whether or not these traits are hers by nature or nurture. It wouldn't be the first time we've encountered mutant experimentation, and we know there are several individuals out there modeled after those two". Xavier said to them both. All three of them stood (or sat) facing their patient, thinking of any possible reason as to why The Brotherhood had been so interested in her in the first place, and who she was.

‹◊›

Storm, Cyclops, Colossus, and Gambit all sat in the kitchen trying to think of a next move. Ororo sat on the counter, leaning forward slightly as she rested both hands on either side. She unconsciously swung her crossed legs as she thought about what Scott had said. They had been sitting here ever since the two of them left Dr. MacTaggart in medi-lab earlier. She quickly glanced at Gambit, who was leaning back in one of the chairs at the table. Only the rear legs remained on the ground, feet propped up and arms folded behind his head. He caught her gaze and new what she was thinking.

"Are ya sure ya wan'na be makin' those accusations jus' yet? I mean, ya migh' wan'na get t'know her first an' all." Remy glanced back in Scott's direction before resting his head back against his arms.

"I must agree with Gambit on this one Cyclops. Even though you raise a good point regarding the ease of The Brotherhood's defeat, it goes against logic to leave her so ineffectual if the purpose is infiltration." Colossus said as the well-built Russian stood leaning against the counter, arms folded across his chest, looking directly at Scott. Scott knew he had been beat, but he wasn't about to trust her any more than he trusted Magneto himself.

"Alright, suit yourselves," throwing his hands up in defeat, "but I still believe The Brotherhood planted her here to spy on us. I'll agree not to treat her like the enemy; however I refuse to welcome her with open arms until there are more facts." Standing up to leave the room, he turned through the doorway and left the others to discuss matters further. Walking down the hallway toward his room, he bumped into Logan travelling in the opposite direction.

"Might want to open your eyes there Summers, maybe then you'll see where you're goin'." Logan said, then noticing how annoyed Scott was. "What's eatin' at you bub?"

"Our new visitor" He retorted, stalking off and into his room.

'Better get down to the medi-lab and see what they want from me.' He thought to himself as he stared where Scott had just been. He couldn't help shake the feeling that it had something to do with the details the latest mission, which he held back on so he could continue to search for Creed. 'Ah, gotta be staying focused.' And with that, he too went on his way, leaving the hallway empty again.

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Please review and let me know your thoughts and opinions, Thank you.


	2. Awakening

**Disclaimer:** Please revisit the first chapter [Status], thanks.

**

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Chapter Two: **Awakening

He arrived to find the Drs. Moira MacTaggart and Hank McCoy debating the purpose of running further tests and scans; however, noticing his presence they directed their attention towards him.

"You called for me, and here I am." He said as he walked over to sit casually in a chair near one of the desks, "what can I do for ya?"

Xavier wheeled into the room, stopping next to where Hank stood, and looked at the scruffy Canadian. "Logan, I would like you to come and see if you recognize the person in the next room." The man looked at him for a moment before rising to his feet and heading through another doorway into an adjoining room. If they wanted him to come look at someone they found, sure no problem, but he didn't see how he'd be any help if they didn't know either. The three followed directly behind him, pausing just inside the doorway while he stood near the bedrails.

The room itself was a smaller area that budded off the main section of the medi-lab, part of the mansion's subterranean levels. Against the right wall was a typical hospital bed, situated between some not-so-typical equipment, some of which extended to the surrounding area or connected to cables along the ceiling. At the moment only a few of these machines were in use, the others remaining silent, while a long figure lay connected via various wires and sensors. Noticing that the person laying there was female he thought to himself 'great, at least I can tell 'em _something'_. He also noticed the faint smell of pine, fresh water, and rich earth underneath the harsh disinfectant used in the medi-lab. For a few long moments, he stood silently watching her, trying to place her in his memories. She was familiar yet foreign to him.

"Do ye recognize her?" Dr. MacTaggart asked, interrupting his thoughts as she studied his features. He quickly spun around to face her standing in the doorway.

"Nope, don't know anything 'bout her." He replied abruptly. "Sorry, I'm heading up." He turned to head out the door—

"Yuir certain ye don't remember her?" She asked, looking at him suspiciously. The man was known for keeping his secrets, but she had hoped Logan would be able to identify her if she had been in the same program. Trying to keep him from leaving the medi-lab just yet, Dr. MacTaggart quickly thought of any way to capture his interest. 'Aye, 'I'll show him the x-rays.'

"Wait a moment; ye might be interested in seeing what we found on her x-rays." She called out to him. She watched as he walked out into the hallway without any sign that he had heard her. Quickly glancing down on the girl to check that her stats were stable, she rushed after him. Catching up to him, she grabbed his arm to stop him, standing in front of him she continued. "Listen to me fur just a second, the x-rays showed that her skeleton was bonded with metal in a similar fashion tae yuirs. Further scans indicate that it's nae as dense as the adamantium in ye, but―

"What?" He interrupted, almost in disbelief of what she just told him. He could be a little touchy on the subject at times.

"Hank and I were hoping ye might be willing tae help anyway." She finished, looking at him briefly before checking the handheld monitor she'd brought in her pocket. Next to her, she heard a distinct _snikt_ and looked up to find Logan examining the claws in his right hand. Sheathing them, he turned and headed back to the medi-lab, leaving a pleasantly surprised Moira standing in the hallway. With a small smile that her plan worked, she followed him in.

‹◊›

A few levels above, Scott was sitting in the kitchen again. After his brief encounter with Logan, he had retreated to his room, remaining there for a good two or three hours before reappearing. He had isolated himself from the rest of the gang for the better part of the morning, albeit unintentionally, until they came in for lunch and Jean found him staring at the floor.

"You appear to be very interested in those flecks on the tile, going to count them?" she teased good-naturedly as she grabbed a chair and seated herself next to him.

"You know me better than that Jean." He replied, still staring at the floor.

"It doesn't take a telepath to see there's something on your mind, so are you going to share it or will I have to go in there and knock it out of you?" She rejoined with a soft but concerned smile. She knew what was going on in his head, or at least a general idea, but she felt that it would be better if _he_ told her what it was rather than her pulling it out. In this mood, however, she wasn't too sure she would get anything.

"It's our guest that has me worried. There's something familiar about her even though we've never encountered her before. For all we know she could the kindest person in the world, but I'd still feel disturbed by her presence. Does that make any sense?" He asked her, looking up at the women he loved as she sat next to him.

"Well…" she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before beginning again, "well I suppose that it does. I mean, as you said earlier we know almost nothing about her, but the reports from the medi-lab show a resemblance in her healing factor to Wolverine's." She replied, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "And so now you're worried she may share other similarities with him?" She asked gently.

"Yes, I have enough difficulties dealing with Logan at times, but now that there is the possibility that she'll be like him, or even worse she'll be like Sabretooth…" He broke off in an aggravated voice as he lowered his head.

Jean sighed, causing Scott to look at her again. She thought for a moment what the outcome would be if the unidentified patient were just like the sociopathic man. She responded with a tentative question, "She couldn't be that bad... could she?"

"I hope not," He said. The two of them just sat there for a little while, both looking at the floor, Jean's attempt to cheer Scott up had only made her moody too.

‹◊›

Down below in the medi-lab, Moira sat and thought about the current situation. Not only did the girl possess a healing factor that allowed for rapid recovery, but also her bones had some sort of metal on them that was just as indeterminable as her age. 'Probably due tae her healing factor.' She thought.

Logan stood there, looking down at her for a second time. He couldn't remember how he recognized her but he was becoming increasingly convinced that he did, and it was really starting to bug him now. Over time the combination of memory wipes, imprints, and his healing factor's attempts at mental preservation had left him with barely anything but unanswered questions. Fate's cruel idea of a joke had succeeded so far, he had no idea who was before he was entered into the Weapon X program. All he could do now was try to make sense of broken memories, and find the memory of her he knew he must've had.

She began to move, slightly, her eyes moving around under her eyelids as if she were dreaming. In her mind, she felt trapped within a dense fog of confusion that began to flash into a series of the latest events. As she came closer towards consciousness, her brain immediately recognized the familiar sensation of pain. Her body ached, but there was another feeling her body was far less familiar with but more terrified of, starched sheets, coupled with the stench of disinfectants. She was aware of a presence nearby, but was unable to identify neither origin nor intention. Whether or not it was threatening she couldn't to tell, but she reacted anyway.

Logan had been turning around to leave the medi-lab, since after all he wasn't too fond of it, and was about to exit the door when he heard a familiar _shink_ from behind. Pausing, he looked over his shoulder before slowly turning completely to looking into an angry pair of orange eyes. What really captured his interest were her hands, balled into fists with four, short, copper-coated claws. He looked at her with a perplexed expression, "copper?" He said aloud, and then he whispered "Coppernite?"

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Hmm… yes, it would appear that I not only added a nonexistent character but I kept the previous cheesiness of the name as well… eh, whatever. If people could review and let me know how the 'revised editions' are faring [especially if you can compare them to the unrevised originals] that would be awesome. Ta!


	3. Testing

**Disclaimer:** Please revisit the first chapter [Status], thanks.

**

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Chapter Three: **Testing

The monitors alerted Moira that there was a change in her patient's condition, particularly indicating that she may be waking. Logan stood just inside the doorway, blocking her view of the patient as she walked up behind him. As she walked past him she wasn't expecting the sight before her, nevertheless she had come to expect the unexpected when dealing with anything related to Charles' X-Men and kept her composure as she began checking the monitors.

"Ah excellent, yuir awake, how do ye feel?" She asked in a professionally calm tone, noticing that neither the patient nor Logan had moved since she came in. Continuing to take the stats of her patient, Moira notified Xavier that she was with Logan in the medi-lab and the patient was awake. 'One's confused and agitated and the other is just plain confused' she added at the end of the mindlink.

"Fine" She replied curtly while sparing a quick glance at the woman checking all the equipment surrounding herself before returning her attention to man standing between the foot of the bed and the doorway. She didn't know why she was here, or even how she got here, 'but I'll be damned if I'm gonna stay' she thought. Quickly scanning her surrounding, she began to plan an escape from this place.

"That's probably not a wise idea" Charles Xavier said as he and Hank entered the room, nodding to Moira in thanks for calling him. "You wouldn't get very far".

"Stay out of my head" she snarled at him, directing most of her attention towards the bald man sitting ho wheeled into the room, recognizing him as a telepath. 'You have no right to enter my mind and read my thoughts' she thought freely before sealing her mind from him.

"Then don't broadcast them so freely" he smiled, maintaining an air of calm certainty that caused her to snort defiantly and look away.

Without warning, Logan [who had been watching the short dealings between Copper and Xavier along with everyone else] unsheathed his claws and tilted his head slightly to one side, listening.

‹◊›

Scott Summers had decided that the best way to ease his brooding mind was to go down to the medi-lab and ask the Professor's opinion of the matter; whether or not the stranger was a potential mole for The Brotherhood. He had left shortly after Jean brought him over to the rest of the team as the hung out in the kitchen, attempting to get him to socialize and distract his mind for a while. 'Don't they ever do anything else beside sit in the kitchen?' He thought as he approached the entrance to the medi-lab, dismissing the thought when he noticed the others were over in the second room standing around the patient's bed. Coming up to stand beside Hank to see what they were all looking at, he too was mildly surprised. He had been expecting similarities between the stranger and Logan due to the reports provided by Dr. MacTaggart, but for some reason he hadn't expected her to have retractable claws also; after all, the sociopathic Sabretooth's weren't retractable. 'I guess it comes to no surprise.' He thought to himself, 'I should've figured'.

‹◊›

"I should've figured" Logan muttered to himself, noticing the stares of the others he sheathed his claws and looked around "what?" he asked trying to sound innocent. He knew it was only Scott walking down the corridor, Creed wouldn't be here in the mansion; well, at least not yet, it wouldn't be long though. The Brotherhood knew there was a good chance she was still at the mansion, and Creed had his means to _coercing_ information from people. The rest continued to stare at him, Xavier's brows lifted in what he couldn't tell was either concern or amusement. Growing a little uncomfortable he raised his own at all of them and motioned toward Copper, "I'm not the patient here" he grumbled defensively.

The patient switched her attention back towards the man she recognized as the telepath, studying his features more closely. Not only was he sitting but it appeared that he'd lost the use of his legs completely, hence the wheelchair, and the others around him seemed to regard him as the person in charge. After a few more silent observations about the bald man, she shifted her gaze over his left shoulder towards the furry blue man, the woman she decided was a doctor of some sort, and the stranger who had just arrive; making mental observations of each in turn respectively. When she was finished taking quick stock of everyone in the room, plus her own condition, she reassessed her current situation. In an attempt to appear less agitated she sheathed her own set of claws and leaned back down against the pillow, but she maintained a careful watch on every person in the room, determined not to let any detail escape her observation. 'It worked' she thought carefully, 'they're relaxing their guard'.

"May I ask your name?" Xavier asked in a placid tone, deciding calm patience was the most likely way they would be able receive any information from their patient.

"You could." She replied callously, looking at him as he smiled that she caught the slip in the question 'most choose to ignore it, she's remaining defensive' he observed silently.

"Alright then, what is your name?" He asked again.

She stared at him for a moment, then over at the others before looking back at him, 'there's no point trying to withhold basic things, they'll just try to get info from me another way' she thought, "my name's Coppernite".

"Hello Coppernite, my name is Charles Xavier; known to my students mostly as Professor X." Xavier said.

She nodded in reply, keeping her thoughts closed and for herself only, she'd been trained for dealing with telepaths before. She only answered a few more questions before deciding not to answer any more. This was a lab, a prison; and as kind as they appeared to be, it was just a matter of time before the experiments began, and that was something she didn't plan to stick around for.

‹◊›

One week later the team was practicing their latest strategies in the danger room while Xavier, Storm, and Beast sat and watched from the observation room above. As the workout below finished and everyone trooped out, Scott remained and walked to stand directly under the observation window. They had planned that as Team Leader, Cyclops would be the one to assess the newcomer's combat skills.

"Are you sure you want to do this right now? We're willing to wait and give you a break first if you would like." Xavier said.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm not that tired, she's still supposed to be recovering and hasn't train since she arrived, so everything should go relatively smooth." Scott replied with an air of confidence. After all, it had been only a week since they brought her in, plus she was fairly injured at the time and despite her healing factor should still be relatively weakened between the strain of healing on her body and the lack of much physical activity.

Moira MacTaggart walked Coppernite in through the entrance into the danger room and told her to wait while she went to go sit up in the observation room with the rest of the team; who had decided to go up there to watch also. Moira had explained earlier in the medi-lab that it was just a simple test to gauge her strength and capabilities, and reminded her before coming up into the observation room, but worried if the woman had even been listening. So far she hadn't spoken much since she arrived; only when she was spoken to directly did she respond, and even then it was usually with one or maybe two words. She clearly didn't trust them, and this would hopefully help to answer a few questions about her that she hadn't.

"Hello, my name is Scott Summers, or Cyclops to my team members." Scott said in a friendly way. She just stared at him in a bored but expectant expression, not saying anything in return. "Hmm, alright then, if there are no objections I think we should begin, we'll just be engaging in some basic skill assessments." He continued, concealing the unease from his voice. Seeing his opponent nod in agreement, he lifted his hand to his visor and made the first strike, three feet to the right of where she stood.

Immediately going to the defensive, she placed her right foot a bit further back behind her left and bent slightly at the knees to brace herself in a fighting stance, unsheathing her claws. As much as she preferred being in the offensive versus the defensive, it was only a test and the best way to pass would be to observe her opponent's tactics and use them against him. Moving back at intervals, she tried to determine if there was a limit to the man's range; she doubted there was.

"Our guest here seems to be watching his every move, gauging his power's ability." Hank muttered aloud, more to himself than anyone else in the room.

"Ain't dat what you'd do if some guy shot lasers from his eyes?" Gambit asked pointedly.

Scott began to advance towards her at an angle, moving to her left until he was almost behind her and she was no longer able to watch him from the corner of her vision. She spun around to face him as he shot a lower energy blast at her torso, dodging out of the direct line of fire only to be hit in the shoulder as she faced him. Staggering back from the hit, she glared up at him; teeth bared from the additional pain added to her still aching body, frustration evident in her expression.

"I doubt she'll be making that mistake again anytime soon."

"I expect that you are correct Hank" Professor X replied in the same lowered tone. Both were focused on the match below.

They watched as the two of them continued their test bout in the danger room, Scott appearing to have the upper hand for the most part. Things changed, however, when she was unable to dodge all in a series of scattered shots, receiving a direct hit to the gut by one of them. She hit the wall close behind her still standing and slowly raised her head to look directly at him as she leaned. Hesitantly he walked towards her, asking if she was alright and if she'd like a break, when suddenly she charged.

Before Scott or the others could react, she had him pinned against the opposite wall, a few slashes to his upper arms already visible. She was about to make another strike when he raised his right hand to his visor, unleashing another beam intended to hurt. As Coppernite was recovering from the surprise, she began forward for him again, however this time she was unable to reach him. A pair of steel arms closed around her and restrained her arms against her body as the group up in the observation room responded.

"Dat one angry femme." Gambit remarked to Nightcrawler when they arrived in the danger room. Jean strode past everyone and stood by Scott's side, checking if he was cut badly.

"See if ye can'nae get her tae stop struggling." Moira was speaking to Colossus. She was having a hard time getting restraints on her. When she couldn't get them on, however, she had to tranquilizer her instead.

Jean finished looking over Scott and turned to the small struggle behind her. Everyone was watching as, right before she passed out, one of her instinctive last effort defenses took effect. Her skin momentarily became metallic with the same copper-like metal as her skeleton but it was too late; panting slightly from the effort it had taken, she fell unconscious as Colossus gently placed her on the floor.

"That would seem to be a sufficient amount of excitement for the morning." Storm said to no person in particular.

"At least nobody was seriously injured," Scott said, "but my arms have felt better." He added with a small smile to reassure Jean.

"She could've killed you bub," Wolverine said sternly, "in fact I think she wanted to, but didn't have the chance."

"What do you mean she didn't have the chance," Scott asked bewildered, "she had her chances!"

"Not as she would've liked them, which is why she waited so long to react, she had to know what you were capable of first." Logan replied.

"What do you mean 'not as she would've liked'?"

"She was studying you, Scott." Hank stepped in and answered. "I noticed it right after you made the first move. She went defensive and remained so until the end of the bout, normally an opponent would try getting a few moves in, but she seemed to watch you the entire time instead. She was studying the way you fought, planning to use any information against you, but she forgot your right hand was free when she pinned you, allowing you to operate your visor. When you shot at her you caught her off guard, and as she was realizing her mistake she delayed, giving us more time to get there and stop her from continuing to attack."

While they had been talking, everyone's attention was diverted away from Coppernite as they discussed Hank's explanation. Her body had begun metabolizing the tranquilizer and as its affect began to wear off she started making small movements, barely noticeable by any of them except one. Glancing over towards her, he alerted the rest of them.

"Look alive people!" Wolverine shouted over his shoulder.

* * *

Indeed, the cheesiness reigns.


	4. Old Friends

**Disclaimer:** Please revisit the first chapter [Status], thanks.

**

* * *

Chapter Four:** Old Friends

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Coppernite stood slowly. The sound of a familiar voice shouting had allowed her to focus and fight off the lingering effects of the sedative. She was still slightly groggy when she made her third run at Cyclops, but this time stopped halfway.

Logan immediately stepped in front of Scott, preventing her from getting to the team leader without going through him first. He couldn't guarantee it, but his gut told him she would stop, or so he hoped. The others stood where they were, Ororo moved as if to join him or pull him back, but he glanced at her and shook his head.

She halted a few feet away and stood there, looking first at Logan, then at Scott, then at the others who were all looking right back at her. Turning on her heal, she walked over to the opposite wall and watched them all from there as she waited for them to do something. Since she had spent the entire time she had been here in the medi-lab, she had no idea where else to go, and she wasn't about to go back into the medi-lab, they weren't her favorite places.

Everyone just stood there momentarily unsure of what to do. One second there was an angry mutant charging at them, and the next she was on the other side of the room staring at them warily. Xavier looked up at Logan expectantly, "knowing there's no love lost between Scott and yourself, why is it you chose to block our guest's path when Jean could have easily created a defensive psionic field?"

"Yeah Red's field would've worked, but it wouldn't stop Copper from trying repeatedly. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got better things to do today instead of hiding behind a bubble." Logan replied gruffly, "figured I'd tell her somethin' she'd get the _first_ time around".

"I see, fair enough," he replied "you are all dismissed. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my study looking over some." Moving out of the room he left them standing all on the one side of the danger room. Moira went over to Coppernite and then left for the medi-lab, followed by Hank. Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Bishop, and Jubilee all left for their respective rooms to take showers and change into regular clothes. This left Jean, Scott, and Logan in an uncomfortable silence.

"Well," Logan said to break the silence, "I better get up there an' take a shower too, before the Cajun uses up all the hot water again."

"Logan wait." Scott said as he was half way out the door.

"What up, One-Eye?" He said, turning back to face the two of them.

"Why _did_ you step in front of me like that? We both know that despite our mutual goals as X-Men, you'd rather I wasn't part of the picture."

"Eh?"

"Look, the Professor was right; she did stop right when you stepped in front of me, and I want to know why. What is it that made her stop for you but not for the rest of us?"

"Like I said, I didn't want to spend the entire day down here, how should I know what's going on in her head and making her stop an' go?" Logan said, turning back to try and leave again.

"Sure, and you want us to believe that? You do know," Jean said suddenly, "that's why you did it."

"Tell me, please." Scott said, but it sounded a bit more like a command.

Logan just walked out the door seemingly ignoring them, but as he left they heard him say "she doesn't know you".

‹◊›

The next morning, Professor X, Storm, and Beast were sitting in the observation room once more. They had decided to try and test her again, but this time it would be her response to Logan. It occurred to them that, for presumably never knowing or seeing each other before (they didn't talk about each other or even try to talk to the other), the two of them both acted strangely around each other as if following an unwritten code. They were enjoying their morning coffee (or Professor Xavier's case, tea) while waiting for Moira to arrive any minute with Coppernite, this way they might be able to talk with her a bit and get to know her more, so far she said very little.

"That was particularly interesting yesterday, the way her skin changed." Hank said.

"Yes," Ororo agreed, "very similar to our friend Colossus."

"I wonder why though, it seemed to take such an effort for _her_, when Colossus barely has to think about it and he changes; with no effort at all." He responded, rubbing is chin as he thought.

The two of them continued their friendly chatter, moving on to other topics while the Professor read the morning's newspaper. Soon, however, a soft knock on the door announced the arrival of Dr. MacTaggart and Coppernite. Their conversation ended and Xavier put down his paper to smile up at the two of them.

"Good morning." He said kindly. "Please, have a seat."

She just stood there, looking at him silently. It was clear she still didn't trust them and their motives; whatever they might be they always had ulterior motives, but she was willing to listen.

"It's alright, really. Nobody in here is going tae hurt ye." Moira said softly, sitting down in a chair near the professor.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked her, offering her the tray of hot drinks.

"Fine." She replied shortly, declining the offer.

"Well, that's good to hear."

By the time Logan arrived they had discovered very little about her, but what they did learn about her abilities they found quite interesting. Not only was her entire skeletal system laced with a previously unknown copper isotope, but that she was also able to control the copper in her body allowing her to create a protective shield within her skin in a manner almost identical to Colossus'. After a few demonstrations they continued on. They didn't learn exactly how that worked though, and they weren't about to run any tests on her at the moment. Instead, they would try and keep this as friendly and casual a conversation as possible until Logan came down.

Back in the danger room again, Coppernite waited. She had taken a brief look around and concluded that it was indeed the same room she was in yesterday. Muttering under her breath about dying of boredom, she stood on her guard the entire time, claws extended from their hollow casings. At last, at the sound of the door opening directly across from her, she looked up to see Wolverine standing in front of the door. As he walked towards her she sheathed her claws, stopping directly in front of her they stared at each other for long moment. Then out of nowhere they were gripping the other's forearm, a gesture of mutual respect and camaraderie.

"Coppernite." He said, tipping his head slightly but not breaking eye contact.

"Wolverine." She replied, doing the same. They released their grip and each took a step back.

Back up in the observation room, the four of them were slightly taken aback by what they just saw, and confused. "Would anyone like tae fill me in on what's going on here?" Moira asked peeved. "He's known her all along?"

"It _would_ appear as if they already know each other, wouldn't it." Hank said.

"Well I figured that much." She replied, "But how, where from do ye reckon?"

"If I had to guess, the same way he's known long Sabretooth before he came here and joined the X-Men, but this doesn't seem too violent, thank the Goddess." Ororo thought out loud.

"Nae, nae it don't." Moira acknowledged. "Well then, could they know each other from the Weapon X program? I mean, if they were both in it then surely they would know one another, even though this hasn't been like other Weapon X reunions..." She said, leaving it unfinished.

"What do you think Professor?" Hank asked.

"I think you're all right on this. They must know each other, and it all makes sense when you look at the little things." He started. "Logan's reaction when she woke up, yesterday when she stopped her attack and went to the opposite wall when he stepped between her and Scott, and what's going on in front of us... they definitely know each other, and probably from Weapon X like you said." Xavier finished, "but one thing I don't get," he added, "Logan can barely remember anything from that except as nightmares or when provoked with something extremely similar. Sometimes even then he _still_ can't remember, so why is it he remembers her?" He sat there thinking for a moment before they were distracted by what was going on in the room below them.

"How can you trust 'em? Surely you've seen their labs, you _know_ what that's ended in for us before!?" She asked angrily. The two of them were circling each other as if ready to attack, but both had their claws still sheathed, this was purely vocal.

"They're...." Logan trailed of, unable to think of a word.

"They're what?" she snapped, "They're like the others, like our good friends at Weapon X?!"

"They're different!" He snapped back, clearly getting frustrated at her stupidity; couldn't she see and accept the fact that all they'd done was to help her? Why was she being so damn dense!?!

"Oh right, 'different', but still with an examining table and scalpels just waiting to cut you open and find out what makes you tick!" She scoffed.

"No!" He half shouted, "That's enough."

"Really? I thought you couldn't remember any of that, huh! What then, what makes them different from the others?!"

"They're family, they stay by each other's side when no one else will, sharing a dream they'd each lay down their lives for." He said quietly.

The two of them stopped circling each other immediately, both looking down, away from the other. He had known all these years that the team was like an extended family to some and the only family to others but he never actually spoke the words, acknowledged their true meaning, the meaning they had for him.

"It ain't another Weapon X program." He spoke at last, looking over at her. "I swear"

"How can I trust them?" She asked.

"You trust me, and I trust 'em with my life. Besides, they start to grow on you after o' while." He admitted with a halfhearted grin.

She still didn't look up at him; unsure of what to do she gazed absently into space, trying to decide whether to escape while she could, or stay and risk looking to find meaning.

"I'll stay" she whispered, slowly looking up at last.

"Well, I'd definitely say that they've known each other." Beast said

The three of them just looked at him, still baffled by what they had just now seen. With a smile on his face, Charles Xavier replied, "Yes, they most certainly have."

* * *

Okay, now you get to review and tell me what you think of it so far. Off you go!


	5. Put It Out

**Disclaimer:** Please revisit the first chapter [Status], thanks.

* * *

**Chapter Five: **Put It Out

"Okay gang, we've received a call from Banshee earlier this morning. It seems there's been a bit of trouble lately courtesy of Black Tom and The Juggernaut, and he's asked us to help him out." Scott announced.

"So who's goin' sugah?" Rogue asked.

"Only a few of you are, five total, it shouldn't be too much trouble to deal with but Black Tom has a habit of making things tricky; Rogue, Shadowcat, Colossus, Wolverine, and myself will be heading over to Cassidy Keep within the hour." He finished, telling those who were going to pack for a few days; Sean was more than likely going to want to catch up.

Everybody left the room, either to get ready for the mission or grumble their way back to their rooms to get some more sleep; Scott had called down almost everyone for the briefing whether or not they would be going. It was a habit of his, and while it was nice to let the others know why their friends and fellow teammates were missing when they woke up, it was 5:17 in the morning.

"I swear, I'm gonna k-k-kill him one of these days Betts," Angel muttered grumpily to Psylocke while trying to stifle a yawn. "He wants to wake us up this early, I'll....."

"Hush now Warren, I'm trying to sleep walk my way back upstairs but you keep waking me up." Betsy said sleepily, but with a smirk on her face as she glanced over at him.

"Well excuse me." He replied playfully.

‹◊›

The sun was barely rising in the east and Ororo Munroe was enjoying the slight warmth already starting to lift the fog around her. She smiled. While she liked to get up earlier than most others in the mansion, even she had to agree that Scott's meeting was untimely for those not leaving, it had been too late to return to her quarters for sleep but too early in the predawn hours to watch to the sun rise; instead she sat and meditated on the bench as dawn approached. The honey-rose fingers unclenched and streached across the grounds before jumping back to the sky, creating a vision and calmness only nature can provide. Ororo lifted her face slightly to face the rising sun; a benefit to the early meeting was that those going over to Cassidy Keep had left earlier in the morning, so there would be relatively few disturbances this morning. She was alone and at peace as she meditated on her various thoughts, and enjoyed the opportunity.

"What're you doing out here?"

"Goddess!" An inquiring voice from behind suddenly startled her and caused Ororo to lose all focus. Turning to face the voice as its source moved forward to stand beside the bench she was surprised to find Coppernite there, Ororo thought she would still be in the medi-lab until later this morning or noon. "Greeting the new day, every morning I come out here to watch the sun rise over the trees. And you?" She said calmly, turning back to face the sun.

The woman stood there silently, her hands clasped behind the small of her back as she stared ahead, motionlessly watching the sun send peaking rays of yellow and gold as it rose higher. There was the slightest hint of a breeze and birds were beginning to stir, sending their songs to fill the air in a light chorus. "Dr. MacTaggart released me from the medi-lab last night." She finally answered, causing Ororo only a moment's pause. "I thought I'd stay—for a bit, anyway."

"But that was last night, and it's morning now, where have you been and what have you been doing all that time?" Storm asked.

"Looking around here and there; scoping out the area." Coppernite said, still staring straight ahead, a dark silhouette against the soft morning light.

"Oh? Find anything of interest?" Ororo asked again to keep the conversation going, closing her eyes against the nearly fully risen sun. Rarely had she'd had a visitor during her morning meditations, and it could sometimes be bothersome like when Gambit returned from a night on the town; however this maintained a tranquil atmosphere.

No answer. Ororo opened her eyes to find nobody there; her visitor had slipped away like the surrounding shadows. 'She must have left as the sun finally broke free of the horizon'. The fog had completely melted away, and the chorus become an orchestra, as Ororo finally stood to return to the mansion; her meditations were over and the new day welcomed. Hopeful to find Kurt or Hank in the kitchen, both early risers, she called out Coppernite's name once before walking across the grounds.

‹◊›

Upon entering the kitchen Ororo was surprised to find that not only were Kurt and Hank there, but also Jean, Bobby, Pietro, and Jubilee. The first two looked their normal morning selves at the table, Hank drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper while Kurt ate a bowl of Lucky Charms, the other four still looked tired; Jubilee sat at the table next to Kurt with her own bowl of cereal, Pietro lay stretched on the couch with his eyes closed trying to get some sleep, however Bobby kept slowly freezing any pillow or cushion he could reach without getting up from the adjacent armchair. Jean sat by Hank and tried not to laugh as Pietro would be startled from his rest, but be too tired to chase Bobby away, choosing instead to reposition cushions and lie back down.

Ororo watched as Jubilee tried to put the spoon of cereal in her mouth but missed and hit her cheek instead. Stifling a small chuckle she went over and handed her a napkin. "Looks like somebody needs to get to sleep earlier" Ororo said with a smile as she sat down across the table from Jubilee.

"Ha ha haa," Jubilee retorted grumpily, wiping her cheek off, "I couldn't get back to sleep after the meeting because _somebody_ decided I should start getting up around the same time _they_ do." She said throwing a glare over towards Hank.

"Who, me? It wouldn't kill you to wake up earlier and get a head start on the day you know." He said looking up from his paper. Taking another sip of his coffee, he went back to reading again.

Shooting him another look that seemed to say; 'it wouldn't kill _me_, but _I_ might kill _you_.' Jubilation Lee turned back to woman facing her. "And what are you d-d-doawning up so early and wide awake?" she asked, fighting a yawn as Hank rolled his eyes and smiled behind his paper.

"I'm not 'd-d-doawning' anything; I just wake up earlier than you, so you normally wouldn't see me at this hour, but since you're up earlier, you see me." Ororo replied to an even grumpier Jubilee before rising from the table to see what was in the fridge for breakfast. Finding a package of sausages, milk, and a few eggs, she decided to make pancakes and sausages for the team; the rest of them would be arriving any minute now. As she grabbed some flour and started mixing the pancake batter, Jean decided to come over and help out. Together the two of them made breakfast while Jubilee fell asleep with her head on the table.

"Breakfast!" Jean called out, sharing a perplexed look with Ororo as they heard shuffling by the couch followed by a loud thud.

"Hey!" Pietro said as he fell to the floor. In a well played effort to prevent Pitro from getting to the table of food before himself, Bobby had frozen the cushions of the couch to Pietro's entire backside. The result was an aggravated Pietro struggling to get up before falling to the ground and having to remain there until the cushions melted off. Bobby then went to sit next to Hank as if nothing had happened, but he couldn't keep the smirk off his face as Pietro's continued stuggles were heard in the background.

When the current group finished Kurt went upstairs, Bobby went to go watch television, and Hank went to work in the lab. During the meal, Jubilee had woken up, ate Pietro's serving and then left, her spot was now taken by Warren; Pietro was still on the floor yelling about 'cruel and unusual punishment'. As Storm started making a second batch for the later risers who were stumbling in, Jean went to get a hair dryer for defrosting Bobby's prisoner.

"Comfy down on de floor d'ere?" Remy LeBeau smiled as he looked down at Pietro. He had entered just as Jean was leaving.

"Shut it!" Pietro glared back up at him.

Walking around back to the table, Remy sat down next to Warren just as Elizabeth Braddock turned up and said good morning. "Mornin' Betsy" they replied as she walked in, grabbed a fork and plate, and then joined them at the table. Ororo placed a plate piled high with fresh pancakes in the center of the table and everyone started reaching for a piece.

After they had all eaten, Betsy and Warren went outside to go for a walk, Pietro (now completely thawed) 'accidentally' ran over Bobby a few times, and Remy was left to become the peace keeper by the television. Jean and Ororo decided to stay at the table for a bit, talking about nothing in particular until Jubilee returned.

"Now are we awake yet?" Ororo asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah I guess," Jubilee replied, "say, how long do you think Wolvie and the others will be gone for?" She asked the two older members.

"We were just discussing that," Jean said, "they'll probably be gone for about a week or so. It shouldn't take long to beat Black Tom and The Juggernaut again, but they'll stay at the Keep longer. After all, it's been awhile since any of us have visited Sean, so there will be some catching up to do."

"Oh, okay." Jubilee said gloomily.

"Hey! Watch where you're aiming you maniac!" The three of them turned to look in the direction of the shouting.

"_Me?!?!_ I'm not the one to be worrying about, _he_ is!" Pietro said indignantly, pointing to Remy

"Yeah well at least I can make t'ings explode in reality mon amis" Remy grinned while holding up an ace of spades.

"Hey, boys, grow up a bit! And Remy _so help me_ if you're charging that card....." Jean shouted over to where they were playing video games, an authoritive yet mischievous look in her eye.

"Oops!" Remy gulped, hiding the card behind his back, only to have it catch on the rug and burst into flame as he tried to maintain a straight face.

"Put it out! Put it out!" Bobby started yelling as Pietro began hitting the card repeatedly and lauging. "What are you standing there laughing for!" Bobby shouted at the two of them as Remy gave up and started laughing also. "What's so funny? It's on fire, we're all gonna die, man! We're all gonna die! Put it out!"

At this point the fire was only ten inches high, and not doing much at all while Remy and Pietro sat back and openly laughed at Bobby. Jean, Ororo, and Jubilation all started snickering at the scene before them as they cued in. Remy and Pietro were now laughing uncontrollably and the two of them had collapsed into their chairs, unable to stand upright anymore. Bobby just stood there, not knowing what to do except scream at them about how they were all going to die, if not by the tiny burning playing card Gambit caused, then by Professor Xavier.

"Ha ha, should I tell him yet?" Remy managed to force out between his laughter.

"Yeah, ha haaaa, yeah I guess you should." Pietro replied with the same difficulty.

"Put it out! Put it out!" Bobby yelled at them, stamping his feet. This caused only one affect with the other two; they started laughing harder, until Remy, with tears in his eyes said;

"Put it out yourself!"

"Put it out myself? What do you mean put it out myself, how am I supposed to put out the fire _you_ started?" Bobby asked him. Pietro only started laughing harder, clutching at his stomach as he gasped for air.

"Simple," Remy said, "Put it out _Iceman_."

"How is that going to help? How am I supposed to..... oh! I'm Iceman, no, I'm _The Iceman_. I'm cool to the core, I'm a "

"—Walking fire extinguisher, now go!" Remy said, then he and Quicksilver looked at each other, then Bobby, and broke out laughing once more.

"A walking fire extinguisher! Brilliant!" Pietro cried.

"Shut up!" Bobby snapped at the pair, all that was left of the tiny fire was a block of ice with a bit of ash in the center. It was obvious that Bobby was angry about them making fun of his reaction and embarrassed by his reaction in general; especially since he was a member of the X-Men and had fought against the likes of Magneto. "Let's just play!" He said, picking up a controller.

"Whatever you say, _Iceman_. Pietro sniggered; Bobby just glared at him and said nothing. The three of them returned to the video game, but there was the occasional shout of "Put it out" by Remy and Pietro.

"Boys will be boys." Ororo rolled her eyes, looking at Jean and Jubilee. The three of them stood to leave and find a quieter location to resume their conversation, but before they left Jubilee stuck her head back in the doorway and shouted;

"Put it out!" Then ducked away as a roar of laughter reached her ears and narrowly missed a snowball aimed at her face.

* * *

So while I realize the last half of that chapter wasn't changed much, I liked having it there too much to remove it. I can't let everything stay too serious, so there might be a few chapters in here that'll make you go "what the hell is this person doing? This has _nothing_ to do with the story I was reading!" I realize, but I promise to make certain things make sense, and if anyone finds and inconsistencies (not including the older chapters that have yet to be revised) please let me know. Ta!


	6. Some Details

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the X-Men, only Coppernite. So please, PLEASE, don't use her in any of your stories without my permission. Thanks people.

**Also:** It took a while I know, but I gave it to a beta, and they never returned it. I tried being patient, and now I post.**

* * *

Chapter: **Some Details

"Well if you noticed, she wasn't at the meeting." Storm said.

"True, although I'm pretty sure she isn't on the team yet. After all, she was released last night you said, and Charles says they don't know that much about her yet. All they have is information and statistics, now they have to put it together so it makes sense." Jean replied.

Jean, Storm, and Jubilee were sitting and talking. The three of them had decided to go to a quieter area to talk, and since it was a warm day with a hint of a breeze, they sat outside. It was mostly Jean's and Storm's discussion, however, and Jubilee just sat next to them and listened. They had been there a little while, talking about nothing in particular until the conversation lazily drifted to the morning's meeting and from there to Storm's conversation with Coppernite.

"It's strange though, if Moira released her last night, then where has she been?" Jean thought aloud.

The next day, while everyone was in the danger room; Professor X, Moira MacTaggart, and Hank McCoy sat in the observation room above. Again. They had been going over the information they had, trying to piece it together until it made sense. So far, they had discovered a decent amount compared to earlier.

"So her bones are bonded with a metal of some sorts, right?" Hank said.

"Aye, it appears tae be copper, but is more durable an' stronger. Almost as strong as the adamantium in Wolverine's skeleton, but nae as dense." Moira spoke to no one in particular, and then focusing to the two next to her she added, "Could Weapon X have tried bonding one metal to another?"

"That doesn't sound too unreasonable actually," Hank replied, "considering what they did to Logan, it wouldn't surprise me." He shuffled some of the papers he was looking at and placed them aside, looking at a diagram of some kind. "Hmm… that's strange" He muttered.

"What is it Hank?" Charles asked him.

"The metal that is bonded to her bones is almost pure elemental copper. There's barely a trace of anything else. As if her body makes it naturally, and it wasn't bonded so much as just… made! But then why would she be put through the bonding process like the rest of them, if she already had a metal skeletal structure?" Hank finished.

"It's just a guess, but could they have wanted tae replace or coat the metal in adamantium, to make it unbreakable? If they were so bent on creating those 'super soldiers', then they would want all of them tae have unbreakable bones, except Sabretooth." Moira said.

The three of them sat there for a little while, watching the exercises below them. Jubilee had managed to get up to the frame of the window and waved at them cheerfully, a big bubble of chewing gum where her mouth should've been. Jean was concentrating on forming a telekinetic beam to shoot at one of the droids, and Gambit had just caused a rather large explosion when he charged up one of the droids. Looking back at the other two watching in the observation room, Moira began to speak again.

"Hank, those charts show the density of the copper in her skeleton, right? And it's stronger than any other copper or copper alloy we've come across, but it is nae so much of an alloy as it is an isotope!" She said quickly, wanting to get it out before she forgot. "A new form of copper that is made either naturally or through interference, but is nearly indestructible, despite it being one of the softer metals. Her blood also shows an unnaturally high level of copper as well, and she can change her skin tae the same type of copper that her bones are fur brief periods of times. This seems tae take a lot of energy from her, especially after having done this many times. Could it be possible that she has control over the metal in her body?" She finished almost breathless.

"Well then, I guess that we've also figured out why Magneto and she fought earlier. He may have wanted her to join him." Said a voice from behind them. Both Moira and Beast started, but then quickly turned around; they had no idea that there was another person in the room.

Coppernite stood leaning in the doorway, her arms folded against her chest. She looked at both of them in turn, then at Charles in the chair. He turned to face look at her, not at all surprised to see her there.

"You've been standing there for the past five minutes, so I'm sure you already know what we were discussing." He said, the picture of calm. "Would you by any chance be willing to help us?"

"That depends on what ya want to know." She replied, remaining in the doorway.

They had noticed something different about her. It wasn't anything most people could see or understand, but they saw it. She wasn't leaving. She was learning to trust them. She was still on her guard, but she wasn't constantly looking around for any sign of a threat.

"Tell us, what is your full ability?" Xavier asked politely.

"Why?"

"Well, for starters, we are curious about you. If we ever need to help you in any way, it would be easier if we knew how. Secondly, for us to get a better understanding of mutants; we first have to find out what their mutations are." He replied simply.

"Fair enough. What do you think you know about me already?" She asked, entering the room, but still standing.

"We already know that ye have four claws in each hand, coated with some sort of previously unrecognized copper isotope, as well as bones bonded in the same metal." Moira said. "Ye also have a healing factor and senses similar tae Logan and Sabretooth's. Finally, ye can alter the composition of yuir skin, tae be that of yuir bones."

"Other than that, we don't know much about you; accept that your age is indeterminable and that you know Wolverine, both possibly from the Weapon X project, thus suggesting you were trained the same way." Hank finished.

She showed no reaction. All three of them looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to speak.

"Seems like ya know enough about me, so what else are ya looking for?" She asked them.

"What else can you do?" Beast asked her.

"Nothing, that's all." She lied.

Xavier looked at her. He could tell she was lying, the advantage of being a telepath, and decided to change the topic a bit.

"Can you remember anything about the Weapon X program?" He asked another question.

"No!" She said promptly, then again more softly. "No, I don't."

Another lie he sensed, but he decided to leave it for now. She had grown very tense, and breaking her trust while it was still forming would only delay it, if not prevent it, from ever forming again.

"Are ye certain?" Moira asked her cautiously.

"Yes." She replied, still tense but not as aggressive. She figured it would be a give away if she just stormed out of there. "Wait, I can tell ya something." She said hesitantly, as if not wanting to give out information about herself, but seeing no other choice.

"And what would that be?" Xavier asked.

"The copper... it was always there." She finished. She turned around and walked out the door.

The three of them sat there, then suddenly Moira shouted.

"Ha! I was right all of ye!"

* * *

Okay, so maybe I didn't update as soon, I admit. But I started it sooner. Sorry, this might've been a really bad chapter. 


	7. Time

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any rights to characters created by Marvel, blah, blah, blah… However, I do own full rights to the creation and use of the character that I created, Coppernite. So there, hah!

**Also:** My apologies. I had lost some interest in this once things got busy, however, I now have a slight idea of what I'm going to do so...

* * *

**Chapter:** Time

The weeks had passed, turning into months. It was now October, and Coppernite was still living at the Xavier Institute. Why she stayed? She didn't really know, but she felt a sense of security here. And, while she would never admit it to anyone, the X-Men had started to grow on her, and she began to believe in their cause. Still, she would never admit it to any other person, hell, she wouldn't allow herself to think about it more than a few seconds.

"Greetings, Jubilee" She said, opening her eyes as the younger girl approached from behind. It was a mild day out, and thus she sat with her back against one of the big trees by the lake.

"Hey!" Jubilee responded in a bright tone.

Although Jubilee was only in her teens, she had already been with the X-Men for a few years. On occasion she had taken part in some of their less dangerous missions. With her mutant ability to create what she calls 'paffs', Jubilee can create a display powerful enough to temporarily blind or deafen a person. Nowadays, she was the team's youngest member.

"what'cha up to?" She asked, plopping herself down next to Coppernite.

"Nothing, just watching the season." Coppernite responded as the breeze blew some leaves from the trees, and landing them on the water's surface. She glanced over at Jubilee to find her with a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"Eh?" Jubilee asked. "You're watching the season?"

"Everything changes, young one, the seasons are no exception. They come and go, fading into one another seamlessly. As time goes by, however, we notice these changes less and less, for we change also, and are too absorbed in what has happened and what will happen, that we pay little or no attention to the present. By separating ourselves from nature, we are slowly suffocating. Each one of us must change, but we have to accept these changes as they come, not try to prevent or force them. By sitting here and watching the leaves on the trees change, then fall into the water below, we see a change that we would have otherwise only recognized as the need to rake the yard. However, since we are witnessing what is happening at this moment, we can appreciate its meaning."

"You've spent way to much time with Storm." Jubilee stated simply. "What is this 'meaning' anyway?"

Coppernite smiled at herself for a moment. This is what she liked about Jubilee. She always spoke her mind, even though there was the potential to seem rude or have it taken the wrong way. She was brutally honest, a rare trait in people these days.

"The 'meaning'," she said, "is that life goes on, despite what goes on in our lives, and that we should always take some time out, to watch it." She finished.

"Yeah, uhm... way too much time with Storm." Jubilee muttered under her breath."

After a short while, the breeze that had blown the leaves around brought cold air with it. Jubilee decided to go inside, out of the cold, but Coppernite remained. Winter was coming early this year, she noted. As the afternoon became evening, she stood up from her seat at the base of the tree, and began to stretch a bit. After all, she had been sitting all day, and while she didn't like to do nothing for an entire day, she knew it wasn't the end of the world. Turning to look up at the mansion that was the home of so many, she could smell dinner cooking.

"Later." She muttered to herself. Right now, she had something to attend to. It was dark now, and the breeze had become a steady wind, with the smell of snow in the air. She began to walk toward to woods when the first flakes fell.

"What is that _smell_?" Warren asked as everyone assembled in the kitchen for dinner.

"Gambit." Rogue, Jubilee, Quicksilver, and Nightcrawler responded in unison.

"Ah, dis brings me back." Gambit came in, carrying a pot of who-knows-what, enjoying the smell as much as the others hated it.

"What _is_ it?" Scott asked, unsure if he just saw it move on its own, or if it was just a trick of the light.

"Gumbo, the Cajun's homemade recipe." Rogue responded with her face buried in her hands.

"Well, it uh, it smells different. I'm sure that it, uh, tastes... alri--?" Jean tried to say, but then Remy gave her a large serving. She watched it ooze on her plate, and Jubilee jabbed at it with her fork.

"Don' touch it, what ever you do." Rogue warned her.

"Aw, now chere, d'ere is nothin' wrong wit' my cookin'." Gambit said, concerned that nobody was eating. "Here," he said, "I'll even take de first piece, non?"

"It's your life, sugah." Rogue responded skeptically.

The rest of them watched as Gambit took a piece, put it in his mouth, made a face, and promptly spat it out into a napkin. As he tried to wash the taste out of his mouth at the sink, Rogue went to get the phone.

"What kind'a pizza d'ya want gang?" She asked them.

Back outside, Coppernite was now in the woods. The flurries began to come down harder and she continued to walk her steady pace, weaving through the trees. Then suddenly she broke into a run. She sprinted silently through the trees, going nowhere in particular, and yet knowing exactly where she would end up. As she ran, she began to laugh. If anyone was there to watch her, they would've thought her to be mad. It bubbled up from inside her and spilled its way out, until the air around her was filled only with the sound of her laughter.

She ran, headless of the storm that was blowing in. She missed it. The cold. The snow. The quiet. And while most others would say that it was too cold outside, she reveled in it. Eventually, she came to a stop at the edge of a large, ancient pine. There she went under one of the outermost branches, to where the smaller branches at the bottom of the trunk had died and broken off, leaving a hollow. Sitting down on the ground, she braced her back against the trunk, closed her eyes, and drifted off.

Wolverine didn't really worry when she didn't show up for dinner, or even after dinner. After all, it wasn't that uncommon for her to just disappear without warning, even for a few days at a time. It was her thing, and he figured she just missed the outdoors. That it was too much a part of her to just ignore and live a more 'tame' life; she had too much 'wild blood' in her. The others had grown used to her occasional disappearance but it still bothered them a bit. They worried about her never returning. Granted, they didn't blame her for being absent tonight, Gambit's attempt at cooking caused the kitchen area to smell _real_ bad, and both she and Logan would've been at the mercy of that stench.

The next morning, the X-Men awoke to find over a foot of snow had fallen overnight.

"And to think, it's only October!" Hank exclaimed while he, Kurt, and Ororo ate breakfast by one of the windows. "You'd think that it's already December or January out there." He added.

"Indeed," Storm said, "it's an early winter Hank, and hopefully, just as early a spring."

Later that morning, when they went out to shovel the walk, Bobby decided that he would try to ambush Jean with a bunch of snowballs. Unfortunately for him, however, he forgot that she was both telepathic and telekinetic, and therefore able to sense his plan, and force them right back at him. When they were done shoveling and waging the world's most impressive snowball war, they trooped inside for some hot chocolate.

"Hey, who took the bag of marshmallows that was on the counter?" Psylocke asked.

They had all gathered in the kitchen and sitting area, each with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in his or her hands. Kurt and Beast had decided to challenge Scott and Jean in a game of team chess. So far, the challengers were winning. Rogue watched as Gambit tried to make marshmallow fluff out of his marshmallows, but ended up with a gooey white blob causing his mug to stick to his hand.

"Here they are!" Kurt said, holding them out of Hank's reach.

"Hey! Give those back!" Hank said, trying to snatch the bag back. "l want some glucose for my hot chocolate!

"Some what!" Kurt asked teleporting to Psylocke's side with the bag. "In English please."

"Glucose! Hank responded, "You know, sugar."

"Whatever!" Psylocke cut him off.

Outside, Sabretooth traced her scent to the large pine. There he found her sitting with her eyes closed. Smiling to himself, he turned to head back into the woods for now, he would wait. At least she wasn't too far away anymore.

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Hmm... Let's hear what you guys have to say about this latest chapter. Maybe you can help me figure out where I'm going with this. 


	8. An Old Foe

**Disclaimer:** By now it had best be obvious as to what I do and do not own.

**Also:** I'll never seem to be able to stop apologizing here for my delays in updating. I just hope some of you out there are still reading, and tips are always welcome!

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**Chapter:** An Old Foe

"_Get up. Now." Sabretooth commanded. Glancing back at the others who had been hidden in the underbrush just moments ago, he began advancing._

_As the group behind him moved out into the village, they gave each other concerned glances. The mission had called for a search and capture of a few selected individuals, however, Creed was known for going overkill. Literally. As team leader on this assignment though, there wasn't much they could do to keep him in check._

_They came upon the first couple of homes, each going for a separate house. Breaking into the homes of others at night, searching for a select number of personnel, killing or capturing (whichever came first) them if they were there. A quick scan of the house she was currently in came up negative, so she moved on. This was a quiet operation. Good. That's they way it's supposed to be, the less their presence was detected, the better and quicker their task._

_Screaming from another house alerted her that all things were not as they were supposed to be. Rushing outside to silence whoever it was, she found Creed walking out of one of the homes, a grin on his face. The sound had ended almost as soon as it had started, but she had heard, and so had the rest of the village. Looking around, she saw Maverick emerge from one of the houses at the same time she did. They exchanged glances and immediately knew what was going on. _

_"Shit!" She muttered to him as he walked up next to her. "He's doing it again. This is supposed to be an in-and-out mission; we're trying to keep the death toll lower this time!" She hissed._

_"You know he can't control himself at times, none of us can." Maverick replied, though she could tell he was just as displeased himself._

_"Yeah, but at least we don't go looking to lose ourselves." Wolverine replied, coming to walk along her other side. "At least, not as much."_

_As the three of them strode up to where the most recent screams were coming from, the smell of death began to fill the air. Sabretooth was already on his fourth house by the time they arrived behind him. Looking around, Wolverine saw mangled bodies lying all over the ground. Their faces, or what was left of some of them, frozen in terror._

_"Enough Creed." He said angrily. "There's no need to kill the ones we ain't looking for."_

_"None other than pure sport and glory." Sabretooth paused only momentarily, turning around to face the three other agents standing behind him, grinning._

_"Look, enough is enough. We got the men we came here for, there's no reason to continue, we should move on." Maverick interjected. He knew the two of them didn't get along; hell they were always looking for an excuse to kill one another. _

"_Not here, and not now boys." Coppernite added, the other villagers were starting to gather together, coming at them with whatever they could use as a weapon, including guns, knives, and shovels. "We've got company."_

_Looking around, the others saw what she was talking about. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Creed opened up gunfire into the crowd, raining them in hot lead. Killing most of them instantly, the rest were left to die slowly. His bloodlust had taken over. Those who had been left to die slowly soon became victim to his unquenchable thirst for killing with his hands, making them unrecognizable as humans._

_Raising her gun, she took her aim and fired at him. Just grazing his shoulder, she gave him a warning. "Stop it!" She growled at him, lowering her weapon._

_It was just the four of them, standing in a field of dead and bloodied bodies. The air was completely still, and stank of death. Sabretooth and her just glared at each other._

Coppernite awoke with a start. Quickly taking in her surroundings, she calmed down a bit, leaned back against the tree, and began to think. It wasn't the first time her memories flashed back at her.

'This one was more vivid though', she thought to herself, 'I can almost smell all the blood again. And Creed...' She drifted off in thought, until the crunch of a breaking twig caught her attention. Getting up silently, she moved some of the pine branches aside, and went out into the cold, early morning air. It was still an hour or two before sunrise, not even a hint of dawn in the east, the only faint light was the white snow, reflecting off of who-knows-where. Looking to her left, her blood froze. 'So I really did smell him'. She thought.

"Hello girlie." Sabretooth grinned maliciously at her.

"What are ya doing here?" She asked angrily, "leave."

"I can't do that you know." He replied, still grinning. "We could work together you know, kill the runt and the rest of those x-twerps." He moved forward a bit.

"Like hell, ya work alone Creed, ya always have and ya always will." She unsheathed all eight of her claws as she said this. "Don't think I forgot."

His smirk immediately turned into a scowl. "Fine then." He snarled, charging at her.

She charged right back at him and the two of them met with a splatter of blood from each. Leaping back, she glared at him before charging at him again. Hitting him on the left, she dragged her claws across his ribs and using the momentum of her attack to swing herself to land directly behind him. Sabretooth turned around to face her, his healing factor already starting to mend the wounds she had caused, raking his nails across her shoulder. Then the two of them leaped back again, as her shoulder closed itself. Glaring at each other for a fraction of a moment, they then continued their fast-paced battle.

The wounds that they were inflicting on one another where taking longer to heal and their movements had started to slow down the slightest bit. Not since the one stop in the beginning had they paused from their private battle, and the deep, pink, snow was making is difficult to maneuver easily.

"Give up!" He snarled as he thrust her against a tree, pinning her.

"Not this time," she replied vehemently.

"You look a little run-down." He said, smirking again.

Turning her skin to be the same metal alloy that laced her skeleton, Coppernite kicked him back, freeing herself. It was true, but she would be the last to admit it, especially in front of an opponent. Experience had taught her that to show any weakness in a fight could be fatal.

As he was getting up, she rushed at him and sliced at his thighs, causing him to stagger back down. They were both bruised and bloodied, for even a healing factor took time to work, but both refused to back down.

"What's wrong, Creed?" She asked in mock innocence, "ya gettin' tired already?"

"Yeah, tired of being soft on yer sorry butt" He shot back, rising to stand.

Coppernite clenched her fists and raised her claws; she smiled, though there was no warmth in it.

Above the battlefield the sky had begun to lighten up, the sun was starting to rise, causing shadows to form all around them. Sabretooth stood in almost full shadow from the sun, courtesy of a grove of beeches, and grinned. He could see that she was eager to end their battle sooner rather than later, and planned on helping her do that. He attacked first this time.

Creed rushed to meet his opponent where she stood, not giving her time to move to the defensive. Grabbing her where she staggered back, he threw her towards the grove.

Wiping sweat and blood from her eyes, she stood up; then something slammed into her chest —hard. She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, blood surged from her wounds, coating her eyes and filling her mouth. Coppernite finally succeeded in clearing her vision just in time for her to see Sabretooth plunge the tree limb through her torso and into the tree behind her.

"What's the problem, girlie?" the wild-maned sociopath asked as she cried out and struggled, unable to pull free. "Need t'get somethin' off yer chest?" He grinned. "Well spit it out—I'm all ears."

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Hehe, about updating on time and all that, yeah... oops. Let me know how I did and all that, I do try and use your advice as best I can, I could probably really use it now so, uh, yeah. thanks 


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